A look ahead to top enterprise and feature stories planned globally by AP Sports. New digests will go out each Thursday and Monday and will be repeated on other weekdays. Please note that story plans may change depending on news and other issues.

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As with all our operations, we welcome and want your feedback. If you have thoughts or questions about the Sports Showcase Digest or the material listed, please reach out to Oskar Garcia, deputy sports editor for presentation and storytelling, at 215-446-6632 or at ogarcia(at)ap.org.

All times are Eastern.

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TUESDAY, June 5

SOC–WCUP-PUTIN’S TOURNAMENT

MOSCOW – The World Cup will kick of next week in Vladimir Putin’s Russia despite the host nation being under international sanctions. Issues like the annexation of Crimea, Olympic doping and the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal are all clouds hanging over the tournament. By James Ellingworth. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos by 12 p.m. Tuesday.

WEDNESDAY, June 6

RAC–BELMONT-JOCKEY CONCUSSION PROTOCOL

Horse racing is years behind other sports in concussion education, evaluation http://www.falconsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-calvin-ridley-jersey , diagnosis and return protocol for jockeys, who often suffer them when they fall off. Doctors have spent the past two years developing a protocol, but progress has been slowed by the industry’s lack of continuity from state to state and track to track. Riders who are on the Triple Crown trail from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness and the Belmont see different rules and care along the way as horse racing seeks to catch up with the NFL, NHL and NBA on brain injuries decades after developing better treatment for horses than riders. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 950 words, file photos by 4 a.m. Wednesday.

FRIDAY, June 8

FBN–WENTZ’S COMEBACK

PHILADELPHIA – Carson Wentz was having an MVP season before a torn ACL forced him to the sideline where he watched Nick Foles lead the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Super Bowl victory. Wentz has a mission to return for Week 1 but his return comes with interesting circumstances: He’s got no pressure to return right away because the Eagles can lean on the Super Bowl MVP to start the season. And that’s not necessarily a threat to Wentz, whose friendship with Foles appears without the strain seen in other famed NFL tandems like Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers or Joe Montana and Steve Young. That has allowed Wentz to pursue other interests while rehabbing, like building a sports complex during a mission trip to Haiti, with the comfort of knowing his job is reasonably safe if he plays well once he comes back. By Rob Maaddi. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 3 a.m. Friday.

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Again, if you have questions about the Sports Showcase Digest or the material listed, please reach out to Oskar Garcia at 215-446-6632 or ogarcia(at)ap.org.

After setting a league record with eight NCAA teams, the Southeastern Conference ranked second again with five first-round picks – but only two from Kentucky. The SEC also tied its own mark with four lottery picks for the second time in four years for the league.

The Big Ten matched its four NCAA teams with four first-round draft picks.

The Big 12 fell far short of matching its seven NCAA berths with only three first-round picks. But the Pac 12, which had Arizona’s Deandre Ayton taken No. 1 overall, matched its three NCAA teams with three draft picks.

And Villanova, the defending national champ, helped the Big East top its two No. 1 seeds. Three Wildcats wound up drafted among the first 30 picks.

Ayton says he wants to ”start my own thing,” adding, ”I want to be dominant in my own brand, and I want to have my own signature one day to make it global.”

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7:50 p.m.

Luka Doncic won a championship on Tuesday. For Real Madrid. In Spain.

Two days later, he’s in the NBA.

The Slovenian teenager -considered one of the best prospects to come out of Europe- was picked No. 3 overall by the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night, amid reports that he would quickly be traded to Dallas for the No. 5 pick and a future first-round selection.

This marks the seventh time in the last 13 drafts that at least one player has gone in the top five and will be entering the NBA directly from an international team. Andrea Bargnani went No. 1 overall in 2006; the last top-five to come from an international roster was Dragan Bender, who went No. 4 to Phoenix in 2016.

The international touch on this draft is already pronounced, with No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton being born in the Bahamas.

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7:40 p.m.

Only eight years after playing basketball for the first time, Deandre Ayton is the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The Phoenix Suns made the long-expected move official on Thursday night, taking the Arizona center with the top overall pick. He’s the first Arizona player to go No. 1 in the draft; Mike Bibby was No. 2 in 1998 and Derrick Williams was No. 2 in 2011.

It’s history for Ayton, and history for his homeland as well.

Ayton is just the second player born in the Bahamas to go No. 1, joining Mychal Thompson – the top pick in the 1978 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

The 7-foot-1 Ayton Korey Toomer Color Rush Jersey , who didn’t start playing basketball until he was 12, averaged 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game in his lone college season. He’s the ninth consecutive one-and-done player to be taken No. 1 overall.

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7:25 p.m.

The players in New York who were headed to the Green Room were individually introduced on stage before the draft officially started. They had their names announced, special accolades and where they are from. Parents also got to walk out with their sons.

Members of the Jr. NBA lined up to clap and cheer, creating a walkway for the draft prospects as they went to sit down at their respective tables.

This is the first time NBA has started the draft with an elaborate introduction.

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6:40 p.m.

Avery Johnson is back at Barclays Center, home of some turbulent times.

Draft night will be a celebratory one for the Alabama coach, who is seated at the green room table of star Crimson Tide point guard Collin Sexton.
Johnson was the Nets‘ coach when they moved to Brooklyn in 2012 but was fired with a 14-14 record early in that first season shortly after they were blown out at home by Boston in a nationally televised Christmas Day game.

He eventually ended up at Alabama and coached here last season when the Crimson Tide played in the Barclays Center Classic. They finished their championship game los.

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